Two Quakes Strike San Jacinto Fault; Big One Unlikely
Magnitude 3.7 and 3.3 earthquakes, 80 miles apart, struck early Saturday on the San Jacinto fault, the same fault where a moderate 4.9 temblor occurred Friday night.
But a Caltech seismologist said it is 95% likely that no larger quake will occur along the San Jacinto--one of Southern California’s most active faults--in the immediate future.
The 3.7 earthquake hit at the northern end of the San Jacinto fault near San Bernardino at 3:24 a.m., while the 3.3, a 4:53 a.m. aftershock of Friday night’s quake, occurred further south near Borrego Springs. Caltech’s Egill Hauksson said the two Saturday quakes were probably unrelated to each other.
Faults as long as the San Jacinto are segmented, with only a major earthquake rupturing all the segments.
Neither Friday’s nor Saturday’s quakes did any reported damage.
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